I performed my first mouse perfusion today on a total of eight mice.Perfusion is a special way to fix (preserve) an animal so that it can be later processed for electron microscopy. First, the mouse is anesthetized. Then, the chest cavity is opened up and a small incision is cut in the upper left side of the heart. A special needle is used to inject a saline solution into the lower right side of the heart. The saline flows through the mouse's entire circulatory system until it flows out of the opening made in the upper left side of the heart, completely replacing the blood. Finally, a syringe containing fixative replaces the one containing saline and the fixative is pumped into the mouse. When the perfusion is done, the mouse is stiff as a board. You can pick up dead mouse by it's completely straight tail resulting in what I call a, "mouse-sicle", or, "mouse-kabob."
After the mouse has been perfused properly, the necessary parts can be dissected. In this case, I dissected the intercostals (back rib muscles) and the leg muscles were dissected by another lab member.
A special thanks goes out the Hasna Baloui of the Salzer lab for teaching me the technique and letting me use her tools. Also, thank you Caterina Berti of the Burden lab for assisting me and dissecting the leg muscles.
